“Be relentless in your self-critique, ambitious in your goals, stay focused, and then have a lucky break. If the luck doesn’t come then at least you made something you can be proud of.”

— Cole Wehrle

This map generation tool lets you “paint” the landscape you want:

https://www.redblobgames.com/maps/mapgen4/

“Every game should be as simple as possible, and as complex as necessary.”

— Eric Lang

“When asked what books to read, classes to take, and so forth, to begin game design, the ultimate best answer is to make something and learn from there. That is 100% the best and no amount of book learnin’ can replace that.”

— Grant Rodiek

“When you have playtested your design to perfection, let it rest some time, then play again. – Expect to be surprised!”

— Reiner Knizia

Board games that teach some of the basic concepts in game design:

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/261181/board-game-design-intro-modern-gaming

The Library of Congress has released more than 11,700 public-domain photos of historic roadside America:

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=mrg&sp=1&st=gallery

Game designers share past mistakes they’ve made and what they learned from them:

https://design100.org/31-regrets/#

Four lessons from Twilight Struggle for aspiring board game designers:

https://brandonthegamedev.com/4-lessons-from-twilight-struggle-for-aspiring-board-game-designers/

How to avoid avoiding getting started on a game:

https://atlas-games.com/news/post?s=2019-09-01-game-design-september-getting-started

The pros and cons of randomness in games (audio):

http://thegamecrafter.libsyn.com/randomness-in-games-with-the-game-crafter-episode-203

The importance of understanding the contract you sign (audio):

https://indieboardgamedesigners.com/nicholas-yu/

Multi-tasking while playing a board game (audio):

http://cognitivegamer.com/podcast/episode-26-to-switch-or-not-to-switch-but-not-that-type-of-switch/

“If your game has a long and complicated setup procedure, it helps if you can break the steps up into labeled groups: common setup, player setup, etc.”

— Dustin Schwartz

The most important things to remember when pitching your game:

https://design100.org/30-pitching/#

“Those who do not play do not live. Those who do not playtest do not design.”

— Reiner Knizia

Best practices for roll-and-write game design—a Twitter game designers discussion:

https://twitter.com/KindFortress/status/1166754997138333701

“A prototype that’s been playtested once by strangers is better than a million game ideas sitting in your notes.”

— John Brieger

Notes on the use of randomness in creating experiences:

https://hollandspiele.com/blogs/hollandazed-thoughts-ideas-and-miscellany/circles-of-salt

“It takes a lot of time and effort to build and nurture a consistent playtesting community. Not every designer has the skills or desire to do that community work either, and it can come at the cost of design time. But it’s still worth doing.”

— Isaac Shalev